Wardens stressing boating rules Aggressive enforcement campaign seeks to deter accidents, fatalities

Officials of the Maine Warden Service recently announced plans to conduct an aggressive boating law enforcement campaign designed to reduce the number of boating complaints, accidents and fatalities in southern Maine.

“This year, in an attempt to counter the growing boating problems and related complaints, we have developed an enhanced enforcement plan for the summer for this region,” said Col. Tom Santaguida, chief of the Maine Warden Service during an event on Long Lake in Naples.

“Our game wardens will be assigned from all over Maine throughout the summer at key times to specifically look for boating violators and if appropriate, summons or arrest them,” he said.

Over the past few years the Sebago-Long Lake region has been the source of repeat and growing complaints regarding unsafe boating, violations of boating laws pertaining to safe operation, drunk boating, and noise limit violations for watercraft engines.

“During the course of the summer, these enhanced patrols will continue during peak boating times – weekends, hot weather periods and evenings. In all, we will have 87 additional warden patrols for the region during these times,” Santaguida said.

The Warden Service will supplement regular patrol shifts with wardens from other parts of the state where there is not as much boating activity.

The enforcement program will include the use of conventional watercraft, personal watercraft and the use of aircraft to monitor and patrol Maine’s inland waterways.

Gong shoot planned

The Blue Hill Regulators of the Blue Hill Rifle & Pistol Club will host the first “gong shoot” on July 16 beginning at 9 a.m.

A gong shoot consists of five rounds fired at targets 50, 75, 100 and 125 yards away.

All rifles must be single-shot rifles loaded with black powder. They may be muzzleloaders, but in-lines are not allowed.

For more information or to register call 834-5244 or 667-2640.

To submit an item for publication in the Outdoor Notebook, send e-mail to jholyoke@bangordailynews.net, fax to 990-8092 or mail information to Outdoor Notebook, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor, Maine, 04402-1329.